Larry Grooms: 'Don't write me in'

A campaign has been launched to get voters to write-in S.C. Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, on their ballots, as an alternative to Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch and Republican Mark Sanford.

But Grooms said Friday he does not want the support.

"I didn't ask for this," he said. "I spent most of my political life trying to get conservatives to unite, and this would certainly be divisive. I don't want any part of anything that would cause divisiveness among conservatives."

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The group behind the write-in effort, Conservative Campaign Committee PAC, sponsored radio ads and a social media campaign to rally support for Grooms leading up to the primary.

The committee is launching a new effort on an even larger scale, according to a press release.

"Given Mark Sanford's new scandals and plunging poll numbers, it's become increasingly difficult for many Republican and independent voters to give any further consideration for his candidacy," the release said. "And now the National Republican Congressional Committee has even gone so far as to publicly announce that they're not going to make any further efforts to support Sanford's candidacy, it's a foregone conclusion at this point that he's not a viable candidate in this race."

The group says Colbert Busch is not a viable candidate, either.

"Elizabeth Colbert Busch is an unacceptable choice for voters who want a voice for South Carolina and not merely a rubber stamp for Barack Obama's failed liberal agenda," the release said.

Grooms said he greatly appreciated the committee's help in the primary, but he is now urging his supporters to vote for Sanford.

"Mark Sanford is our nominee. I failed to have enough votes to be the nominee," he said.

The group's radio ad, which will also serve as the audio portion of a television ad, can be heard online: